Mac value for money

Labarum

Labarum

Labarum

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24 Dec 2002
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415
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Southampton
I have been looking longingly at a Mac laptop. A few years ago they looked reasonably priced next to a PC laptop, but now?

If I want a 15 screen I am in Macbook Pro territory, and they are looking very expensive compared to similar spec PC.

You pay a small premium for a Macmini or the latest iMac, but much as I would like a Mac Laptop, I don't think I can justify the extra cost.

I would probably continue to run Firefox, Thunderbird and Open Office (Neo Office on the Mac), and I would enjoy the interface and the fun bit with my digital camera. But I have to think carefully about this.

Am I missing something?
 
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It's a large step up for a reason: they're classed as pro machines.

Unfortunately they don't offer a larger "consumer" screensize on the MacBook, so if you want >13.3" then you're stuck with getting a MBP.

If you can use the HE discount, you'll save a good £200-300 (you can just lie and say you're at uni over the phone to claim it :p)
 
I tend to agree.

I bought my MacBook last year when PC laptops were still around £600+ for basic models. This has changed significantly over the past few weeks/months, with some under £300.
 
Macbooks/Macbook Pros are pretty expensive for what they are. Apple know that their customer base will pay that money though.

I bought the mid-range 2.4Ghz MBP recently, and it was a good £500 more expensive than I could've got an equivalent spec Asus G1S/G2S or even a Sony Vaio for.
 
gumbald said:
How much do you buy? :p I think I annoyed him by asking lots of questions :)
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Quite a lot! :D

He only asked me last time as I rung up and played the "I'm an unsure student" card, which probably seemed suspicious given my order history!
 
Wouldn't say they are super overpriced for what they are - if you compare a MBP to a midrange dell for example it will look bad value, but a MBP is not a midrange machine and is not priced as so. It is well built, stylish and has features like high res screen, backlit keyboard long batterylife and well built case. I would say it would be more comparable to an IBM/Lenovo (high end business laptop) or Vaio (High end consumer laptop) and if you do that it really doesn't seem too bad value.
 
At first glance Apple hardware does look more expensive compared to some of the really low priced PC hardware available but if you do a proper side by side comparison it evens out more than you might think. Value for money means more than just how much you paid for something.

People are always willing to pay a little more for a better experience be that with a car, a holiday or whatever and for some people that includes a computer. IMO with a Mac you are getting something extra - a better overall experience from the packaging to the hardware to the software, something that you do not usually get from the general PC/laptop market.

Of course not everyone cares about that sort of thing and there is nothing wrong with that but for some people it does make a difference.
 
Jihad said:
The Mac laptops are actually pretty well priced, but the desktop machines are pretty overpriced.
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They're not "technically" desktops.. more workstations.

I'm not saying the price of the XEONs is overpriced, but they are pretty reasonable in price compared with some of the other workstations on offer.
 
Justin said:
Along with build quality etc.
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My expanding battery tends to disagree, especially when it stops the keyboard and trackpad from working.

Perhaps I need a trip into 'town' to the Apple store...

But yes, Tiger rocks Vista so much imo.

Also, whilst we're on the subject of discounts... Web orders... Could I get onto http://apple.procureweb.ac.uk/ from college (which just so happens to be on superJANET) and blag a HE discount?

If so, I spy a nifty plan to knock the price of the mac pro I want down a bit...
 
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